Loyalty: The brand new novel from the bestselling author

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finally, i’d just like to point out that the author (a white woman) used a racial slur for no visible reason, where it could be easily omitted. I took ages getting to this book as it has taken a fair amount of slating on many book clubs, for a while fans have commented on Cole's book just not being a shadow of her former works. I still enjoyed this one, it starts pretty much from the first chapter, each chapter is relatively short in length making perfect for dipping in and out of. It has elements of her previous books although I agree that with fierce competition from writers such as Chambers & Mitchell there does seem to be a spark missing. You have loyalty, violence, family, relationships, sex, swearing, murder, drugs, prostitution and warning, even child abuse within this one. Not for the easily offended and if you haven't read Cole before I would recommending starting with her earlier work. Although I can appreciate the true nature of the plot and darker side of gang life I didn’t like the writing style. I found Coles writing extremely repetitive and predictable. I hated everything about this book. The characters, several generations of an Essex crime family, are all deeply unpleasant and carry out one atrocity after another. They're superficially glossy and care more about flashy cars and designer kitchens than about anything else. They're gangsters who are considered all right as, whatever else they do, they love their old Mum. Before reading The Family I'd previously only read one of Martina Cole's books, Faceless, which I hated (but it was a giveaway with a newspaper). When I recently won a copy of The Family I thought I'd give it a go as it couldn't possibly be worse than Faceless - well, it could and it was.

Loyalty Jacqui Rose, Martina Cole 2023/2024 Release - Check Reads Loyalty Jacqui Rose, Martina Cole 2023/2024 Release - Check Reads

At Holly Brookes Children's Home, the two girls unite in the face of horrific abuse and form an unbreakable bond of loyalty.Martina has the skill of creating characters that drive you crazy. Love and hate are so close in emotion and I felt this a lot with Aidan. I loved the way he fought from a young age to provide for his family as essentially the man of the house, to make a name for himself and ensure that his family was taken care of. What I didn’t like were how the power slowly starts to corrupt him and with that comes unsavoury behaviour towards both his girlfriend and his family. This is only the second book I have read by this author and already I am a huge fan and want to read more. Her writing is amazing and I am intrigued by what her other work has to offer. The actual story and characters are mediocre in my opinion. I didn't connect with any of them. I had no sympathy for them and seeing Michael escape at the end, starting a new life with his new girlfriend and baby didn't gall me in a way that I think might have been intended.

Martina Cole books in order | Waterstones Martina Cole books in order | Waterstones

Miminka milovala. Byla tak bezmocná a ve všem na vás závisela - bylo to jediné období Reevinho života, kdy si připadala chtěná. Každé z jejich dětí ji dávalo pocit důležitosti, pocit že tady má nějaký účel. A taky ji dávaly pocit úplnosti - jako by v tom chaosu svého života konečně něco udělala správně." At Holly Brookes Children’s Home, the two girls unite in the face of horrific abuse and form an unbreakable bond of loyalty. I had an idea of what I was letting myself in for reading BETRAYAL. Martina Cole has this magic of being able to create characters and families, all with their own different traits, but blend together really well. I really can't think why anyone would want to read this, unless it's for the vicarious thrill of observing violent and unpleasant people.

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

It was definitely better than the last few MC books I have read. But I am still finding the books quite repetitive. If I had any kind of interest or respect for Cole, I lost it when I saw the blatant mistake early on in the book where a character changes name completely. Like what? Although Cole has never been one to provoke thought, or make my mind surpass its small limits, sometimes a crime novel is something I savour for its simplicity. Aiden O'Hara is the oldest, loves his mum but knows she attracts the wrong sort of guys so he has to watch over his family. All Reeva's children work for “the firm” - it is impossible, under Aiden's rule, for any of them to work honestly. The one exception is the youngest, Agnes. She is a good girl, beautiful and bright. She is devoted to her Catholic faith, and attends Mass twice daily. When Aiden finally marries and has a son, she devotes herself to looking after him, and seems not to want a life of her own.

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Up to this point I rather liked Aiden. But as the years pass and he becomes a man, gradually he also becomes a monster. His need to control everyone he knows, most of all his family, becomes obsessive. A very wealthy criminal, Eric Palmer, whose fortune has been carved out from prostitution and drug dealing, takes Aiden under his wing and teaches him everything he knows. It’s unflinching in its portrayal of the characters we meet, and we meet some disgusting, evil, perverted ones who literally have below zero morals and then some I am going to admit this: I am in two minds over Betrayal. I enjoyed the story and kept listening to the audiobook, but at the same time, I can't help but think that I had read this story before... Loyalty is everything and even more so when it's family, anything else will be the ultimate betrayal Aiden O'Hara has always looked out for his family, ever since he was a wee laddie. His mother has something of a reputation and many children to different fathers. Aiden is fiercely protective and soon makes himself a name with the local face. Drugs, prostitution and murder are all things Aiden finds himself caught up in but it pays the bills and keeps his family safe. However as Aiden's reputation grows his arrogance and unpredictability grows with it turning Aiden from protector to a possible danger to his family and business.Dara Tailor has had to grow up fast. With a mother addicted to cocaine, Dara must look after her seven younger siblings, until social services split them up for ever. The characters of the six children are very well drawn, and they are all very different. The dominant one is Aiden, the eldest, a highly intelligent teenager who adores his mother. Within the local community he is recognised as someone special, and his headmaster is very anxious that he should be put forward for a scholarship to a good senior school. But Aiden himself and the rest of his family are not interested. Aiden's only purpose in life is to make money, lots of it, to support the family. The plot was too simple for a suspense/thriller novel. There were so many little off-shoots that the plot could have taken that would have been mildly interesting and suspenseful. Unfortunately, the author took none of these and we were left with the unfulfilled hope that the story would become complex and live up to what it was marketed as.